A structural basis for S1 nuclease sensitivity of double-stranded DNA

A protonated form of a cloned simple repeating DNA sequence d(TC)n X d(GA) is detectable in equilibrium with the usual Watson-Crick base-paired form at pHs up to 7. This form is anomalously sensitive to a variety of single-strand-specific endonucleases. The observed pH dependent protection of N-7 of dG residues within the insert suggests that these residues are either Hoogsteen or reverse Hoogsteen base-paired to protonated dC residues of the polypyrimidine strand. A structure in which dA:dT Watson-Crick base pairs alternate with Hoogsteen syndG:dCH+ pairs appears to be the most stereochemically acceptable structure consistent with the chemical properties of this protonated DNA. Protonated d(TC)n X d(GA)n interacts with an anti-Z DNA antibody raised against brominated d(GC)n X d(GC)n.     

S1 nuclease sensitivity of a double-stranded telomeric DNA sequence.

We examined structural properties of poly d(C4A2).d(T2G4), the telomeric DNA sequence of the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena. Under conditions of high negative supercoiling, poly d(C4A2).d(T2G4) inserted in a circular plasmid vector was preferentially sensitive to digestion with S1 nuclease. Only the C4A2 strand was sensitive to first-strand S1 cutting, with a markedly skewed pattern of hypersensitive sites in tracts of either 46 or 7 tandem repeats. Linear poly d(C4A2).(T2G4) showed no preferential S1 sensitivity, no circular dichroism spectra indicative of a Z-DNA conformation, no unusual Tm, and no unusual migration in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The S1 nuclease sensitivity properties are consistent with a model proposed previously for supercoiled poly d(CT).d(AG) (Pulleyblank et al., Cell 42:271-280, 1985), consisting of a double-stranded, protonated, right-handed underwound helix. We propose that this structure is shared by related telomeric sequences and may play a role in their biological recognition.     

Monte Carlo implementation of supercoiled double-stranded DNA

Metropolis Monte Carlo simulation is used to investigate the elasticity of torsionally stressed double-stranded DNA, in which twist and supercoiling are incorporated as a natural result of base-stacking interaction and backbone bending constrained by hydrogen bonds formed between DNA complementary nucleotide bases. Three evident regimes are found in extension versus torsion and force versus extension plots: a low-force regime in which over- and underwound molecules behave similarly under stretching; an intermediate-force regime in which chirality appears for negatively and positively supercoiled DNA and extension of underwound molecule is insensitive to the supercoiling degree of the polymer; and a large-force regime in which plectonemic DNA is fully converted to extended DNA and supercoiled DNA behaves quite like a torsionless molecule. The striking coincidence between theoretic calculations and recent experimental measurement of torsionally stretched DNA (Strick et al., Science. 271:1835, 1996; Biophys. J. 74:2016, 1998) strongly suggests that the interplay between base-stacking interaction and permanent hydrogen-bond constraint takes an important role in understanding the novel properties of elasticity of supercoiled DNA polymer.     

Straightforward detection of SNPs in double-stranded DNA by using exonuclease III/nuclease S1/PNA system

Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) have been straightforwardly genotyped by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Peptide nucleic acid (PNA), a DNA analog, was used as a probe molecule. In its presence, genomic dsDNA was first treated with exonuclease III and then with nuclease S1. By these one-pot reactions, single-stranded DNA fragments including the SNP sites were formed in situ. These fragments were directly analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS, and the identity of the DNA base at the SNP site was determined in terms of mass number. By using two or more PNA probes simultaneously, multiplex analysis was also successful. Various genotypes of apolipoprotein E gene (ε2/ε2, ε3/ε3, ε4/ε4, ε2/ε3 and ε3/ε4) were identified from dsDNA obtained by PCR from corresponding patients.     

S1 nuclease hydrolysis of single-stranded nucleic acids with partial double-stranded configuration.

The single-strand specific nuclease S1 from Aspergillus oryzae (EC 3.1.4.21) was purified 600-fold in 16% yield from dried mycelia. Determination of the isoelectric point of S1 nuclease as 4.3-4.4 allowed adjustment of chromatographic conditions such that the enzyme was isolated free of contaminating ribonucleases T1 and T2. S1 nuclease so purified was used for removal of single-stranded portions from the RNA of the Escherichia coli phage MS2, which has a helical content of about 65% in vitro. At 23 degrees, increasing amounts of enzyme converted the RNA to mononucleotides in about equimolar base ratios. No small intermediates of chain length 2-8 were found. At 0 degrees, MS2 RNA hydrolysis was slower and reached, in exhaustive digests, a plateau where 70% of the substrate RNA remained insoluble in 66% EtOH. With [32P]MS2 RNA, strip chart counting of 6% acrylamide-6 M urea electrophoresis patterns of such digests gave recoveries of 80-91% in the form of defined oligomer bands. On 2.5% acrylamide-0.5% agarose gels, the molecular weights of the major oligomers were found to range from 25,000 to 41,000. Similar to purified tRNAArg used as a control, these oligomers were not resistant to pancreatic RNase-RNase T1 hydrolysis at 37 degrees, and were not bound on hydroxylapatite at 50 degrees in 0.14 M sodium phosphate (pH 6.8). Melting of the oligomers gave complex profiles without a clear Tm and showed an increase in A260 of 35% at 93 degrees over that at 28 degrees. Upon formaldehyde denaturation of MS2 RNA prior to S1 nuclease hydrolysis, no resistant oligomers were found.     

Stereochemical course of DNA hydrolysis by nuclease S1

Nuclease S1 hydrolyzes the Sp-diastereomer of 5'-O-(2'-deoxyadenosyl)-3'-O-thymidyl phosphorothioate in H2(18)O to [18O]deoxyadenosine 5'-O-phosphorothioate which can be phosphorylated enzymatically to the Sp-diastereomer of [alpha-18O]deoxyadenosine 5'-O-(1-thiotriphosphate). 31P nmr spectroscopy shows the oxygen-18 in this compound to be in a nonbridging position at the alpha-phosphorus, indicating that the hydrolysis reaction catalyzed by nuclease S1 proceeds with inversion of configuration at phosphorus. This result is compatible with a direct nucleophilic attack of H2O at phosphorus without the involvement of a covalent enzyme intermediate.     

Changes in site specificity of single-strand-specific endonucleases on supercoiled PM2 DNA with temperature and ionic environment.

Mung bean nuclease sites in supercoiled PM2 DNA at neutral pH were located by linearizing the singly-nicked circular DNA product with venom phosphodiesterase followed by restriction endonuclease mapping. The locations of the sites varied with small changes in temperature and in concentration of NaC1 or magnesium ion. Different environmental changes which affect duplex stability in the same direction showed similar effects on the number of sites and in some cases resulted in identical cleavage patterns. Venom phosphodiesterase and P1 nuclease showed cleavage patterns similar to mung bean nuclease under the same environmental conditions and showed similar variations in cleavage patterns when environmental conditions were changed. Relaxed, closed-circular DNA was slowly cleaved at numerous sites whose locations did not vary with environment. Changes in site specificity are likely the result of environmental effects on the conformation of supercoiled DNA as opposed to effects on the single-strand-specific endonucleases themselves.     

Conformational analysis of hairpin oligodeoxyribonucleotides by a single-strand-specific nuclease

Hairpin-forming oligodeoxynucleotides d[ATCCTA(A)NTAGGAT] with n = 3-6 were subjected to nuclease digestion with the nuclease from mung bean. Cleavage occurs only in the loop region of the hairpin molecules. In detail, the number and intensity of cleavage sites were determined in relation to the length of the loop, the temperature and the salt concentration. The restricted accessibility of mung bean nuclease to the loop bases adjacent to the helical region of all hairpins is due to a reduced exposure of these bases in presence of a certain Mg2+ concentration. With increasing temperature the exposure of these bases is increased. It is deduced that the bases adjacent to the helix increase the length of the latter by stacking, the degree of which is dependent on the number of loop bases.     

Cellular and tissue distribution of a single-strand-specific nuclease.

1. Specific antibodies which were raised against a single-strand-specific nuclease isolated from rat liver microsomes were used for characterizing this enzyme and determining its cellular and tissue distribution. 2. The single-strand-specific nuclease does not show any homology with other known nucleolytic enzymes. 3. It is mainly localized in microsomes and cytosol; traces of it are also found in nuclei, but it could not be detected in mitochondria. 4. Using the same specific antibodies we attempted to detect this nuclease in some other tissues which exhibit high metabolic rates, namely kidneys, heart and spleen. 5. Thus, with the aid of immunological techniques we were able to determine that at least part of the total poly(U) nucleolytic activity observed in kidney and heart is due to a nuclease immunologically identical to the enzyme under study. Kidneys were the best source for this enzyme.     

Flow cytometric evaluation of DNA digestion with S1 nuclease

The digestion of DNA with the S1 nuclease has been investigated by flow cytometry on two cultured cell lines and on splenic lymphocytes. The nucleolytic activity of the enzyme has been determined by measuring the decrease in fluorescence intensity of DNA stained with Propidium Iodide (PI). The reaction kinetics could be estimated through the shift of the G1 peak, since the shape of the DNA histograms obtained from cell submitted to S1 digestion did not show any particular variation as compared with the histograms of undigested control cells. DNA digestion was found to be more pronounced when cells were previously damaged with agents known to induce strand breaks, such as gamma-rays or Adriamycin. The assessment of DNA sensitivity to S1 nuclease with flow cytometry may thus provide a fast and reliable procedure for evaluating chromatin structural changes, both in physiological and pathological conditions.     

Sequence-dependent S1 nuclease hypersensitivity of a heteronomous DNA duplex

Using cloned (dG-dA)n X (dC-dT)n DNA duplexes [GA)n) as models of homopurine-homopyrimidine S1-hypersensitive sites, we show that cleavage of the alternate (non-B, non-Z) DNA structure by S1 nuclease is length-dependent, in both supercoiled and linear forms, which are similar because of the identity of their nicking profiles. However, the length of flanking sequences, the presence of borders, and the DNA topology affect the equilibrium between the alternate structure and B-DNA. The B form of (GA)38 has a 10.4-base pair helical repeat, but the two phosphodiester backbones have different conformations (heteronomous DNA with a dinucleotide repeat unit). Extension experiments reveal that the alternate structure is also heteronomous, in agreement with the nicking patterns generated by S1 and mung bean nucleases and by venom phosphodiesterase. Sensitivity to the latter enzyme at pH 9.0 indicates that the alternate DNA does not appear only in the low pH of the S1 nuclease reaction. Moreover, Hoogsteen G-CH+ base-pairing does not seem to be a prerequisite for the appearance of sensitivity because S1 still recognizes the structure even when all Gs are methylated at N-7. This is consistent with the results of chemical probing of the structure using dimethyl sulfate and diethyl pyrocarbonate at various pH values, which show absence of protection at guanine N-7. However, diethyl pyrocarbonate treatment at low pH results in hyper-reactivity of A residues.     

S1 nuclease does not cleave DNA at single-base mis-matches

Three assays have been designed to detect the cleavage of duplex phi X174 DNA at single-base mis-matches. Studies with S1 nuclease failed to detect cleavage at mis-matches. S1 nuclease digestion at 37 and 55 degrees C failed to produce a preferential degradation of a multiply mis-matched heteroduplex when compared to a mis-match-free homo-duplex as analyzed by sedimentation on sucrose gradients. Other heteroduplex templates were not cleaved by S1 nuclease at a defined single-base mis-match when assayed by gel electrophoresis or by marker rescue. In all cases, the amount of S1 nuclease employed was at least 10-times more than that required to render a single-stranded phi X174 DNA molecule completely acid soluble. The rate of hydrolysis of single-base mis-matches by S1 nuclease was estimated to be less than 0.016% of the rate at a base in single-strand phi X174 DNA. In no instance did we detect activity by S1 nuclease directed at mis-matched sites in our template molecules. Similarly, the single-strand specific endonuclease from Neurospora crassa does not cleave heteroduplex templates at a defined single-base mis-match when assayed by marker rescue.     

Purification and characterization of the single-strand-specific and guanylic-acid-preferential deoxyribonuclease activity of the extracellular nuclease from Basidiobolus haptosporus.

An extracellular nuclease from Basidiobolus haptosporus (designated as nuclease Bh1) was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, heat treatment, negative adsorption on DEAE-cellulose, and chromatography on phenyl-Sepharose followed by FPLC on phenyl-Superose. The overall yield was 26%. The Mr of the purified enzyme, determined by gel filtration, was 41 000 whereas by SDS/PAGE (after deglycosylation) it was 30 000. It is a glycoprotein with a pI of 6.8. The optimum pH and temperature for DNA hydrolysis were 8. 5 and 60 degrees C, respectively. Nuclease Bh1 is a metalloprotein but has no obligate requirement for metal ions to be active, nor is its activity stimulated in the presence of metal ions. The enzyme was inhibited by Zn2+, Ag2+, Hg2+, Fe3+ and Al3+, inorganic phosphate, pyrophosphate, dithiothreitol, 2-mercaptoethanol, NaCl and KCl. It was stable to high concentrations of organic solvents and urea but susceptible to low concentrations of SDS and guanidine hydrochloride. Nuclease Bh1 is a multifunctional enzyme and its substrate specificity is in the order of ssDNA approximately 3'AMP > RNA > dsDNA. Studies on its mode of action showed that it cleaved supercoiled pUC 18 DNA and phage M13 DNA, endonucleolytically, generating single base nicks. The enzyme hydrolyzed DNA with preferential liberation of 5'dGMP, suggesting it to be a guanylic acid preferential endoexonuclease. 5'dGMP, the end product of hydrolysis, was a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme. The absence of 5'dCMP as a hydrolytic product, coupled with the resistance of (dC)10 and deoxyribodinucleoside monophosphates having cytosine either at the 3' or the 5' end, indicates that C-linkages are resistant to cleavage by nuclease Bh1.